Review: Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington

For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she shifts to her 'other' life - a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she's a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she's considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other.

With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments that bring her dangerously close to the life she's always wanted. But if she can only have one life, which is the one she'll choose?

A compelling psychological thriller about a girl who lives two parallel lives - this is Sliding Doors for the YA audience.

-A copy was provided by Hachette Children's Books UK for review-

Thought provoking and compelling, Between the Lives is a story about a girl with two lives. One is seemingly perfect, but the other has him…

At first this novel reminded me quite a bit of Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz and Ron Bass which I loved, but it ended up standing on its own. While Lucid was more about the mystery, this one is more about big choices and love and life. Often throughout this book I would stop and think about what I would do if I had two lives. Imagine the possibilities! Being able to basically get an extra 24 hours every day to be a different person, yet the same. I just loved this idea, although I could also understand her wanting to give one up, to be able to fully live in one life instead of having to live a lie twice.

The double life aspect is built with fantastic attention to detail – though it isn’t at all difficult to understand like some sci-fi novels can be. It just has many layers to avoid plot holes or endless questions. Like, what happens with injuries and memories and how both worlds work in terms of each other (if she goes to her “other” home, or tries to find people from the other life, for instance). I also loved how different she was in each life. In one, she seems to have it all. A wealthy family, a future at Harvard, tons of friends, popularity, and the perfect relationship – on the outside (I don’t get why she stayed with him if he made her so queasy – I know that he’s a constant to her but bleh). In the other, she’s kind of a delinquent with nothing much going for her in comparison. But then she meets Ethan just when she decides she’s done with this life. Sabine is an 18 year old girl, and teenage girl priorities she has. Her outlook on life is superficial and she can be selfish at times. She may not be the most likeable protagonist, but she’s certainly realistically constructed.

While in one life the romance makes you kind of uneasy, in the other, we’ve got a wonderful love interest: Ethan who is full of charm and larger-than-life questions. I loved how he gave her a reason to stay, but he didn’t make it about himself. He made her think of her double-life as a gift instead of a curse. He also comes with baggage of his own that gives the book some emotional depth as well as a sense of realism that you don’t always find in YA romance. Other than romance we have family and parental presence which I appreciated, but what I enjoyed most was the sibling relationships in both lives. One is a young sister who’s adorable, the other is the older brother with whom she finally forms a bond. With a smaller role but just as well developed, her friend Capri bring a lot of life to the book and quickly became a favourite of mine.

Romance, family, life, and second chances; Between the Lives is a wonderfully crafted contemporary story with a sci-fi twist. I would recommend it to those who like stories with a meaning.

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

Oh wow this sounds very interesting! I think I would go crazy if I could live to lives. But I like how this sounds. I’m glad you enjoyed it!Bethzaida (bookittyblog) recently posted…All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill Review

I actually have this book and have been nervy about trying it, but now? Now I think it’s going to be one I jump into pretty quickly, man, why have I been putting it off?! I’m excited thanks to your review hunny, so thank you! Amanda @ Book Badger recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday #15

I haven’t heard anything about this one at all but it sounds really good. I don’t know if I could handle having two lives. Keeping track of one is hard enough!fishgirl182 @ nite lite recently posted…Trailer: Dracula Untold

Oh good, you liked it too! I thought the story was amazing and didn’t really notice too many flaws in her character, she really was just your usual teenage girl, just with some added abilities. I’ve linked my review if you wanted to take a look Kyra @ The Review List recently posted…Between The Lives – Jessica Shirvington

I just read a book where the MC lives 2 lives. This one sounds like it was done pretty well. I will have to add this one too. Great review. I am glad that it was a good read for you.Jenea @ Books Live Forever recently posted…Review for Sins & Secrets (Sins #1) by Jessica Sorensen

Story with meaning? Sign me up! I’m super interested to see what kind of choice she makes, and I haven’t read too many stories about double lives. Sounds like a great read, thanks for the review!P.E. @ The Sirenic Codex recently posted…WoW – Dove Arising

I’ve heard so many good things about Jessica Shirvington…I even saw one of her books at the library the other day, but my TBR is so. darn. tall at the moment, I resisted borrowing it. I WILL CHANGE THAT ONE DAY SOON THOUGH. I like the mix of contemporary and sci-fi elements, so this is definitely on the tbr. 😉Cait @ Notebook Sisters recently posted…Razorhurst by Justine Larbalestier + Interview + Blood Everywhere

I completely agree with everything you said but to be honest, what killed the book for me was the ending. I was loving it up till that point and then I was just sad. It wasn’t just the sadness though. I don’t know how to explain it without spoiling so I won’t but yeah. .-.

Haha yeah I know what you mean! I had a feeling something like that would happen though. It was kind of bittersweet to me. She met him in one life so that he could show her that she was living with a gift, not a curse – that life was precious. So it’s like they needed to meet in one life so that she could accept her ability as a good thing, and then meet again in her other life to live HEA (that’s what I think anyways :P) And also since he believed her in one life, she can prob make him believe her in the other and live a full, happy life without having to lie to him about herself, you know. I liked that it was an ending with a lot of possibilities and hope

This one does sound really interesting! I enjoyed Embrace by Jessica Shirvington, but haven’t heard that much about Between the Lives/One Past Midnight. What I have read about this book (including this review) has got me really intrigued, however. As always, great review!Alex from Electrifying Reviews recently posted…Ten by Gretchen McNeil

This is such a beautiful book, and it really does sound like one, too! I’ve read the first book in the Violet Eden Chronicles, and it wasn’t the best paranormal read, so I kind of stayed away from this author’s books. But since this is a sci-fi read that deals with parallel lives and universes, I’m definitely in. You should try Erica O’Rourke’s Dissonance, it’s the best book that I’ve read that was released this year!Michelle recently posted…Don’t Miss A Diss #2: Getting Your Blog “Out There”

That is a very interesting cover! And I’m glad to see you enjoyed the book! I’m curious about that uneasy romance in one of her lives though. I really enjoyed what I read of the Violet Eden Chronicles, and I’m excited to read this one by Shirvington. Great review, Giselle!Hafsah recently posted…Fabulously Thrilling: A Review of ILLUSIVE by Emily Lloyd-Jones

Jessica Shirvington is one of those authors that I haven’t managed to read yet, but am extremely intrigued by. So intrigued that when I saw that book cover, and didn’t recognize it, I was like, “Ooohhh?? She has ANOTHER book coming out?” and immediately clicked the Goodreads link. Which is a good thing, b/c I’m actually supposed to read this book, LOL. My version has a different cover AND different title though. So, I didn’t read your review yet, b/c I’m trying that as a new thing to see if it helps my reading experience, but I’m encouraged by your rating 😉 I’ll be sure to come back once I’ve finished it myself, I promise!

Hmmm, this reminds me a little bit about Pivot Point, although the set up and the how’s and why’s is completely different.
Sounds like a quite interesting read, and it might end up being my first Jessica Shirvington book, cause I still haven’t read anything by her!
Great review, Giselle!Pili recently posted…Saturday Pages: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell!!!

Usually I don’t go for the emotional books and stick to paranormal romances and high fantasy, but you make this book sound intriguing. Like Pili said, it actually does sound a bit like Pivot Point, but at the same time it’s so different. I may have to give this book a try now just to figure out if it’s something I’d like or not XD Thanks for writing the wonderful review!Preethi recently posted…Review: Touch of Power (Healer #1) by Maria V. Snyder

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The Reviewers

Giselle

Giselle is a wife and mother who lives on books and coffee - what else is there?
She's known to be sarcastic and rarely serious. She loves reading books, blogging
about books, chatting about books, and smelling books. Although YA is her current
favorite she has a wide variety of genres that she enjoys. She likes her characters
bad-ass, her plots full of action and her fair share of gore - though she will
indulge in a chick-lit here and there. In short, she'll read anything. She's
also the mind behind Xpresso Book Tours.

Amy

Hi! I'm Amy! I'm no good at this, but I'm a mom of one little girl
who really thinks she is a princess. I love reading all sorts of
books (horror being a favorite genre of mine), love meeting new
people, drinking lots of coffee, and eating chocolate. If you want
to know anything else about me, just ask.

Faye

A 21 years old Filipina who loves books, games, languages, and most
especially, food. Secretly wishes to be an astronaut so she can
explore the stars. Has a love-hate relationship with Philippine
politics. To get into her good graces, offer her foie gras, or tempura
shrimp. A JRPG game works, too.

REVIEWED IN JUNE

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